| FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE | Contact: | |
| July 16, 2015 | Camila Gallardo | |
| (305)215-4259 | ||
| cgallardo@nclr.org |
NCLR: Senate ESEA Bill Fails to Provide Critical Protections for Nation’s Students
WASHINGTON, D.C.—Today the “Every Child Achieves Act” (ECAA), a bipartisan bill to reauthorize the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) formerly known as No Child Left Behind, passed 81-17 in the Senate. Since its enactment in 1965, ESEA has been a pillar of the nation’s civil rights framework, ensuring all students, regardless of race, ethnicity, or income level, have the resources and support for academic success. NCLR (National Council of La Raza) does not support final passage of this bill because it removes civil rights protections for our nation’s most vulnerable students.
“We applaud the bipartisan work to improve programs for English learners, expand access to early childhood education, and strengthen parental engagement and notification. However, we are deeply disappointed that the ECAA bill does not provide critical protections for Latino students and English learners. By failing to require timely interventions when our students are not meeting academic goals, this legislation does not live up to the ESEA’s intended purpose,” said NCLR President and CEO Janet Murguía.
Today, Latino children make up one-quarter of the nation’s K–12 enrollments and their academic success is integral to the nation’s economic prosperity. Though Latino high school graduation rates have dramatically improved, Hispanics still lag behind their White counterparts in reading and mathematics testing and their college completion rates are noticeably lower.
“In the coming weeks we’ll be talking to and hearing from our community about this important legislation and we look forward to working with the president and congressional leadership to make improvements to strengthen accountability provisions, address the limitations of the federal role and promote resource equity. We cannot support the bill unless these core priorities are addressed. It is imperative that Congress move beyond the rhetoric of ‘fixing NCLB,’ and instead focus on getting ESEA right,” concluded Murguía.
NCLR—the largest national Hispanic civil rights and advocacy organization in the United States—works to improve opportunities for Hispanic Americans. For more information on NCLR, please visit www.nclr.org or follow along on Facebook and Twitter.
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